Inference on homeostatic belief precision

Abstract

Interoception and homeostatic/allostatic control are intertwined branches of closed-loop brain-body interactions (BBI). Given their importance in mental and psychosomatic disorders, establishing computational assays of BBI represents a clinically important but methodologically challenging endeavor. This technical note presents a novel approach, derived from a generic computational model of homeostatic/allostatic control that underpins (meta)cognitive theories of affective and psychosomatic disorders. This model views homeostatic setpoints as probability distributions ("homeostatic beliefs") whose parameters determine regulatory efforts and change dynamically under allostatic predictions. In particular, changes in homeostatic belief precision, triggered by anticipated threats to homeostasis, are thought to alter cerebral regulation of bodily states. Here, we present statistical procedures for inferring homeostatic belief precision from measured bodily states and/or regulatory (action) signals. We analyze the inference problem, derive two alternative estimators of homeostatic belief precision, and apply our method to simulated data. Our proposed approach may prove useful for assessing BBI in individual subjects.